Circuit-breaker.



P. c. HEWITT. CIRCUIT BREAKER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. (i, 1912.

1,110,781 Patented Sept. 15,1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

14' a l INVENTOR fmrflyw rwir BY A I A TTORNE P. 0. HEWITT.

CIRCUIT BREAKER.

v APPLIGATION FILED SBPT.6,1912. 1,1 10,781. Patented Sept. 15,1914

3 SHEETSSHBBT 2.

P. G. .HEWIT'T. CIRCUIT BREAKER APPLICATION FILED 51:21. 6, 1912.

1,1 1 0,781 Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' WITNESSES /4 11 a 4M2 A I W 42%:

1 STATES: P T FF man-came 'nnwrr'r, or'nINGwoon Manon, NEW JERSEY, Assmn'on, By MESNE nssremrnn'rs, TO ooornn HEWITT ELECTRIC COMPANY, or HOBOKEN, NEW j. UEB'SEYQ a conrona'r onor NEW JERSEY. j I

CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

v Specification of ltetter's Patent. Patented Sept, 1914, ori am application filed m 1, 1905, Serial No. 258,148. Divided and this application filed September '6,

. 1 1912. Serial No.7 18,792. I

/ To all 'whom it mag concern Be it known that I, PETER Goorsn Hinvrrr, acitizen of the United States, and resident.

of, Ringweod Manor, county ."of Passaic, State New. Jersey, have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Circuit- ,Bre'akers, of which the following is a specifi'cation.

;The present invention relates to certain improvements in electrical apparatus of the closing chamber through which the current maybe made to flow through a gas or vapor or such conducting medium as is capableof developing a high resistance to starting at v the'negative electrode and in which it may ,be interrupted.-

The terminals formed by interrupting the conductor inv the. inclosing chamber are. preferably of such a material, or of material in such a -condition,'as will present to the initial passage of the electric current, a negative electrode resistance. ;In.the operatlon.

of this form of device, when the conductor is ruptured in the container, a gas or vapor path or the equivalent is introduced in the I circuit carrying the current, and, further,

two terminals are so formed. These terminalsoroneof them, may then be made of v such material and under such physical conditions as will present to the initial passage of the current, a high negative. electrode resistance or reluctance to starting. Such ter-. immals mayconsrst of mercury, or mercury for one terminal and some other convenient conducting material for the other; the object being to avail of the establishment of the negative electrode resistance at one of these terminals on thecessation of current flow and through this means prevent the i starting up oftheinterrupted current.

. A convenient mechanical form of device consists of a revoluble chamber containing a quant tyof. mercury bridging two conductor's-one at least of which .is capable ofbeing carried out of electrical "connection to -the"charge oflthe terminals. The action- 'thenis as follows; When the chamber is with the. mercury at will and a condenser for bridging these terminals which may be, capable of being chargedoppositely in sign and inter-' turned to suehposition as to interrupt the continuity of the mercury there is e'stabnals and, so prevent the passage of current.

In practice, it is advantageous under certain conditions to. have the condenser charged in the opposite sense before being brought into; contact with the terminals of the device, thereby insuring better action at' the contacting points due to the difference of voltage thus attained, and also having the advantage of a larger ratio of current to the. condenser. I

It is not always necessary that. the condenser should have a reverse" charge for under certain conditions the mere charging of the condenser when connected with the electrodes will serve to interrupt the flow of current through the gas'or vapor path. The path may also be made originally in some cases through a solid conductor bridging the electrodes, provided there present means for formingthe temporary gas or vapor path "and suoh nn electrode and surroundings as will develop the required negative electrode resistance.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device suitable for carrying out my invention; Fig. 2, is an end View thereof; Figs. 3 and 4 show a .Inodification for securing similar results with the use of more electrodes; Fig. 5 illustrates a similar system using electrodes arranged in adifl'erentmanner so that the pairs of electrodes lie in a plane containing the axis oii rotation; and Fig. 6 represents a system for translating: direct current into alternating current.

, Referring tothe drawings, 1 represents a gas or-vapor chamber containing two. electrodes, 2 and 3, the formerhere shown as connected through a slip ring, (32 with a conductor, 4, leading from asuitablesource of direct electric currents, 5. Theelectrode 3 iscOnneeted through a'slip ring 63' with a conductor, 6, leading to aworlr circuit, 7,

the return conductor being represented at 8. A quantity of rcury, 9, as shown as bridging the space between the two pr0jec tions or pockets, 12 and 13, containing the electrodes 2 and 3 respectively.

The chamber 1 is shown as being rotatably mounted upon suitable trunnions, 11 and 14,

so that on turning, the pockets 12 and 13, will be carried upward and thus the bridge of mercury 9 will be broken, leaving the vapor in the chamber 1 the only path between the electrodes 2 and 3. The same action of rotation will connect the respective plates 16 and 17 of a condenser 15 with the electrodes 2 and 3, respectively. This may be accomplished in any convenient manner. In the drawings, I have shown the plates 16 and 17 as being respectively connected by conductors 18 and 19 with the contact brushes, 20 and 21, sting upon commutators or sliding contacts 22 and 23. These commutators each have two sections, those against which the brushes bear when the apparatusis in the position shown in figure 1, being connected by conductors 24 and 25, respectively, through sliding contacts 60 and 61 with the conductors 8 and 6, respectively.

The condenser plate 16, therefore, receives a negative charge from the conductor 8, assuming that the conductor t is, connected with the positive terminal and the conductor 8 with the negative terminal of the generator 5. Likewise, the condenser plate 17 receives a positive charge from the conductor 6. The remaining plates of the respective contact devices are connected with the electrodes 2 and 3, respectively, so that when the chamber 1 is revolved the condenser plates 16 and 17 are disconnected from the conductors 8 and 4: and connected with the electrodes 2 and 3, respectively, thus impressing upon the gas or vapor path a charge in theopposite direction to that of the flow of current through the gas or vapor path. This results in an instant cessation of the current flow permitting the negative electrode resistance to establish itself within thechamber, thus causing a co1nplete interruption of the circuit without causing any deleterious spark or electrical discharge.

In cases of electrical circuits containing a large inductance it may be desirable to provide special means for receiving the heavy discharge therefrom. This may be accomplished in any convenient well-known way as, for instance, by making the condenser 15 of considerable capacity.

The time of connecting the condenser plates with the electrodes 2 and 3 may be varied so as to have those connections established either at the moment the vapor path is formed, or after an interval of greater or less duration.

In Figs. 3 and 4:, I have shown a modificamore rapid closing and interruptin of the circuit. By a continuous rotation o the device here shown and by properly ad ust1ng the parts, the interruptions may be made very rapid. The connecting puddle of mercury remains at the lower side of-the cylindrical chamber and bridges the electrodes only during the intervals that. corresponding electrodes pass through the lowest portion of the arc of rotation.

There are various ways of connecting up the multiple electrodes. For instance, as shown in Fig. 3, the contact rings are di-. vided into four diametrically opposite sections, the parts being so arranged that the eifects described with reference to Fig. 1, will be multiplied by reason of the presence of two eliective pairs of terminals. For producing the necessary motion of the container 1 about the axis of the trunnions 11 and 14:, I provide a belt, 56, running around the trunnion 11 and transmitting energy thereto from the pulley 57, which is driven from the power shaft 59. The bearings 58 serve to maintain the power shaft 59 in its proper position.

In Fig. 5, a modification of the general form of inclosing chamber is shown wherein the two electrodes are side by side that is in linewith the axis of rotation instead of their being transverse to their axis.

It is not always necessary to employ more than two electrodes as the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be employed for the same purpose, but by multiplying the electrodes the rate of rotation for a given rate of interruption will be less. WVhen more than two electrodes are used it will in most instances be preferable to provide an even number of such pairs of electrodes and there will be asmany strips upon the commu- IVhen desired, the energy inductively stored,

in the condenser at any opening of the circuit may be utilized for any suitable purpose. The condenser will then be ready for use in subsequent current interruptions.

In the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the electrodes are in somewhat shallow extensipns, the bottoms of which are shown as being covered with platinum plates, 32, 33, 34 and 35, constituting leads. It will be understood that the shapes of these projections may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention.

he rapidly interrupted currents taken oif from such devices, for instance, those shown in Figs. 3 and 4, maybe passed through the primary of a transformer and alternating currents induced in a secondary. This ren-" ders it possible to conveniently transform direct currents into alternating currents.

In Fig. 6 there is shown diagrammatically a'modification in which a vapor apparatus is provided with four electrodes, 42, 43, 44 and 45, equally spaced around the circumferencewith a puddle of mercury at the bottom sufiiciently large to form electrical connection between two electrodes u on rotating the device on 'its trunnions. T e segment commutator' shown upon the axis supporting the condenser serves a triplepurpose, first, that of reversing. the line current throu h the device as one electrode is substituted or another, second, bringing the current into the device through one of the electrodes, thence through the inercur thence from a second electrode to theprimary of a transformer 46, thence to the return circuit, and, third,

when. the device is rotated so that the vapor gap is caused to exist in the device between one of the, electrodes and the mercury, to brid e the device by means of -a condenser, 15, thereby causing the cessation of current flow through the device which on further rotation serves to establish a flow of current in the opposite direction. In this manner reverse currents are rapidly transmitted through the primary of t e transformer 46, the secondary of which is thus caused to deliver alternating currents to a work circuit 47.

It is customaryfor long distance transmission to use alternating currents of high voltage upon the main lines. This is largely due to the fact that the high voltage is more economical for transmission and may be readily transformedinto low voltage-at the receiving end.

By my present invention aconvenient means is furnished for permitting the transmission of high voltagedirect current over the main circuits and'utilizing the energy at the receiving end either asvdirect current or alternating current and at any desired voltage. For instance, the direct current of high voltage may be generated at the transmission station, or an alternating current of the desired voltage may, at that station, be transformed into a direct current and transmitted over the main line. At the receiving end the high voltage direct current may, if desired, be first converted into an alternat- "ing current by means of the device herein described, and the alternating current thus produced may have its voltage transformed in the usual way, and the transformed alternating current may, if desired, be then converted into direct current of appropriate form. By condensers is meant any source of capacity including electrolytic capacity.

' I claim as my invention:

1. In a system of electrical distribution the combination with a direct current source, an alternating receiving circuit, and a .vapor device comprising an exhausted container and suitable electrodes therein, of means for connecting the terminals of the source to the mains of the receiving circuit through said vapor device so that current will flow in one direction to the receivin circuit, means forconnecting the termina s of the source to the mains of the receiving circuit through said vapor device in the opposite direction and means .for interrupting the flows of current alternately established by said two first named means after a definite period of time, said means operating periodically as described.

2. In a system of electrical distribution the combination with a direct current source, 1

an alternating receiving circuit, and a vapor device comprising an exhausted container.

and suitable electrodes therein, means for connecting the terminals of the source to the mains of the receiving circuit to determine current flow, periodically in opposite directions, through the vapor device to the receiving circuit; means cooperatin 'with said first named means for periodica ly'interrupting each current flow at a definite period of time after it is established in either direction by the said first named means.

Signed at New York, in the county of NewYork, and State of New York, this 4th day of September, A. D. 1912.

PETER COOPER HEWITT.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, Tnos. W. BROWN-,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

